Recent content by Spike

Peeking at the specs, the Holo May DAC outputs 2.9V for RCA and 5.8V for XLR, while the Moon 280D outputs 2V for both XLR/RCA. That may explain the lower volume level on the ARC Ref6SE. I did not see any options to trim down the output at the Holo May DAC. Given the ARC Ref6SE accommodates for...

A quick glance at the specs yields the input sensitivity of 0.5V for MC-2100, and 2V for Adcom 585. That means the MC-2100 will be overdriven much earlier than the Adcom, and this matches your description. Given that the input sensitivity for the MC is 1/4 of the Adcom, I'd venture to say that...

Here's a chance for you to focus on the Hana Umami Red until the KTE comes.

Jason, Enough of the eye-candies. Inquiring minds want to know how the Hana Umami Red is working out on your rig.

My comment has to do with the mentality aspect of this statement. Let's say (for the sake of argument) that I go through the research process and purchase the 15A's as they are the best speakers for my system today. Now, fast forward to 6 months later and ML releases a new line of speakers to...

Off the top of my head, Manley Steelhead, and the phono offerings from Aesthetix. I am sure there are other good units which I am not familiar with.

I am currently using a 331 in my system and am very happy with the Levinson. Originally, I thought I'd need a 333 (or at least 332) to replace the outgoing 300wpc Classe' CA-300, but I was proven wrong. The 331 at 100wpc (into 8 ohms) sounds more powerful than the Classe'. The Levinson's bass is...

Not really a choice in this matter. It's the price of admission when co-existing with a significant other. She's nice enough to indulge with my "toys" so this is the least I can do.

I seriously considered the Prodigy, but then got voted down due to...WAF. Her words: "They are too deep and weird looking. They are not elegant."

Well, this is a personal preference, having dependencies on your current equipment. Moving to newer models means that you're locked into class-D amplifiers for the bass. The class-D on the bass didn't do it for me. I prefer tubes on my panels and class-A solid-state on the woofers. The...

I would just keep it at 100Ω to start. Changing only 1 variable at a time. For experimentation, I'd probably experiment with 470Ω or 1000Ω just to see how it affects the sound. Remember the purpose of this experiment is to see whether the noise floor drops, giving you a "blacker" background...

Cartridges in the $3k-$5k price point: Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua (~$3.5k), Dynavector XV-1S ($5.5k), SoundSmith The Voice ($3k), SoundSmith Sussurro ($5k), the SoundSmith Paua ($4k) is also excellent, and of course the above mentioned Hana Umami Red. There are many others, but these are the ones...

You are aware that the Hana Umami Red is in the $4k range, right? In my opinion, the $3k-$5k range is the sweet spot for phono cartridges. There is a noticeable difference going from the sub $2k range into this $3k-$5k range. Beyond $5k, the improvement is incremental and I cannot justify for...

Going from Zephyr MIMC Star to Voice, the vocal midrange has more "body". Bass is a bit more controlled and a bit more shimmer in the highs. The noticeable change is the midrange where the presentation seems to have more front-to-back depth. In my opinion, the cartridge is where the diamond...

What is it that you find lacking and need to be improved? Your current Gold Note phono is an excellent unit in its own right and I don't think you have yet to approach its limits. I would explore upgrading the cartridge first if I were in this situation. From my experience (having gone through...